Doyle Drive Replacement / Presidio Parkway, San Francisco, United States of America

Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, California, US, is being constructed as a replacement for Doyle Drive. Doyle Drive was built in 1936 to link the Presidio military base to the Golden Gate Bridge. Presidio Parkway is scheduled for completion in 2013.

Doyle Drive handles more than 100,000 vehicles a day, however, it has become structurally and seismically unsafe in this earthquake-prone area, thus necessitating a replacement. Moreover, the driveway does not provide direct access to Presidio, which is now a national park.

Doyle Drive-Presidio Parkway project

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority's Board of Commissioners finalised the Presidio Parkway project in 2006.

The Doyle Drive replacement will be a six-lane parkway with a south-bound auxiliary lane through the Presidio Trust to Richardson Avenue / Lombard Street.

The parkway will have 853ft-long twin tunnels that will connect the city's historic Batteries to Lincoln Boulevard and the San Francisco National Cemetery.

The tunnels will offer improved access to Main Post, Crissy Marsh, and the Batteries.

Two viaducts will be laid in opposite directions towards the south-bound and north-bound sections. The Ruckman Bridge will be widened to accommodate an additional exit lane from the south-bound highway to south-bound Presidio.

Presidio Parkway provides for pedestrians and cyclists with 24 miles of trails and 19 miles of in-road bike lanes, which will make it easy for pedestrians and cyclists to cross Doyle Drive at several locations.

Presidio Parkway construction

The $48.4m contract for the Presidio Parkway was awarded to CC Myers and work began in December 2009. Construction is planned in three phases.

Construction of the south-west section, the Southern Park Presidio Interchange, the south-bound high viaduct, Ruckman bridge and the twin Battery tunnels were undertaken in phase I, which is scheduled for completion in 2011.

Phase II will begin in 2011 and be complete by 2013. Important works of this phase include: the northbound high viaduct, Northern Park Presidio interchange, northbound road to Merchant Road, Girard Road interchange and demolition of the existing high viaduct. In the final phase the temporary detour and landscaping will be removed and Presidio Parkway will open for traffic.

Project contractors

The Doyle Drive replacement project is divided into eight contracts. Under contract one, plant collection, salvaging and propagation, stabilisation of historic buildings, a tree programme, advanced geotechnical work and wetland mitigation contracts were awarded to Hanford, Centric Construction, Professional Tree Care Company, Malcom Drilling and TBD contractors, respectively.

Under contract two utility relocation work will be undertaken by Ghilotti Bros. Permanent roadway section, south-bound high viaduct, Southern Park Presidio Interchange and Ruckman Undercrossing works were awarded to CC Meyers under contract three

The fourth contract was given to R&L Brosamar for an at-grade detour, the south-bound Battery tunnel, a permanent roadway section, an electrical and mechanical substation, retaining walls and traffic switch woks.

The fifth contract includes main post tunnels, the north-bound battery tunnel, demolishing the existing low viaduct, an electrical and mechanical substation, traffic switch and the sixth Girard Road Undercrossing.

The seventh contract covers the north-bound high viaduct, Northern Park Presidio Interchange, north-bound roadway to Merchant Road and demolition of the existing high viaduct. The eighth contract of landscaping is being considered for public-private partnerships.

Arup will provide the project's roadway, drainage, utility, tunnel and structural designs. The company is also responsible for environmental compliance and mitigation, extensive landscaping and site investigations. Arup and PB Americas will provide engineering services.

Presidio Parkway financing

Investment in the Presidio Parkway project is estimated to be about $1bn with 12 federal, state, regional and local agencies providing the funding.

Federal funding sources will provide $72m as committed, $30m as new grants, $50m under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and $46m under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's TIGER Grant. State sources will provide $420m and local sources $333m.

The project is sponsored by San Francisco County Transportation Authority and California Department of Transportation, Presidio Trust, National Park Service, California Department of Veterans Affairs, Golden Gate Bridge Highway Transportation District, Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Federal Highway Administration.